Japan stocks rise on weak yen, strong earnings

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Fresh losses for the Japanese yen helped send Tokyo stocks higher early Friday, with the Nikkei Stock Average
NIK, -1.25%
rising 0.4% to 11,186.71, while the Topix added 0.6%. With the dollar hitting highs not seens since June 2010, exporter shares climbed, with Honda Motor Co.
7267, -0.85%HMC, -1.30%
adding 1.4% despite cutting its earnings forecast for the year ending March 31. Other auto makers also gained amid the falling yen, with Toyota Motor Corp.
7203, -0.81%TM, -0.84%
up 1.6%, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
7211, -2.86%MMTOF, +1.40%
ahead by 2.1%, and Mazda Motor Corp.
7261, -1.17%MZDAF, +0.39%
improving by 2.9%. Shares of Sharp Corp.
6753, -2.41%SHCAF, -0.60%
rallied 4.2% after a Nikkei news report that strong smartphone earnings allowed it to swing back to an operating profit in the October-December quarter. Softbank Corp.
9984, -0.35%SFTBF, +1.42%
advanced 2.9% on the back of posting an October-December profit double that of a year ago, even as it said its planned deal to buy Sprint Nextel Corp.
S, -2.53%
would weigh on earnings for about a year after such a deal closes. Strong results also sent NEC Corp.
6701, -0.34%NIPNF, +0.00%
jumping 5.4%. However, a surge in profit for Nomura Holdings Inc.
8604, -2.07%NMR, -0.86%
failed to help its shares, which traded 0.8% lower, while rival Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
8601, -1.28%DSECF, +4.11%
climbed 2.1%. Industrial major Fanuc Corp.
6954, -1.45%FANUF, +1.32%
lost 1.1% after the Japan Robot Association said sales of industrial robots fell in the last quarter.

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